Usual symptoms

• People with meningococcal disease often get a sudden high temperature (fever), a headache, a stiff neck, eyes that hurt in the light (photophobia), confusion and drowsiness, muscle aches, cold hands, thirst, joint pain, nausea and vomiting.
• People with meningococcal disease often, but not always, have a red or purple rash that can look like small red or purple spots, bruises or broken blood vessels. The rash can also have a lace or net pattern. This rash doesn’t fade when you press the side of a glass on it.
• Meningococcal infections can cause several types of disease. The most common are infection of the brain lining (meningococcal meningitis) and bacteria in the blood or blood poisoning (severe septicaemia).¹ These are the most serious complications and will require treatment in hospital.
• Meningococcal disease can also cause lung infections (pneumonia), pain in the joints (arthritis) and eye infections (conjunctivitis, also called pink eye).
• Many people carry meningococcal germs (bacteria) at the back of their noses and throats without knowing it. While this may not make them get sick, they can still spread the germs to other people.
   

Less common symptoms

• Between 10 and 30% of children and adolescents who survive meningococcal meningitis or septicaemia have fingers, toes, arms or legs surgically removed (amputated) or have permanent deafness or brain damage.¹
• Between 5 and 10% of people who get severe meningococcal meningitis or septicaemia die, even if they are given medicine like antibiotics.²

If your adolescent is tested and diagnosed with meningococcal disease, your local state or territory Public Health Unit (PHU) will be notified. The PHU can provide advice on any public health measures your household should follow. These may include staying home from school and work.

In Australia, all adolescents are recommended to receive a free vaccine (MenACWY) that strengthens immunity to four strains (A, C, W, and Y) of the bacteria that cause meningococcal disease.

After the age of 14, adolescents are also recommended to receive a vaccine to protect them from meningococcal strain B. If your adolescent received vaccine doses to protect them from meningococcal B as infants or young children, they should receive another single vaccine dose after they turn 14 years of age. If your adolescent has never received a meningococcal B vaccine series before, they are recommended to receive two doses.

Currently, meningococcal B vaccines are only provided for free and as part of school immunisation programs to adolescents in South Australia, Queensland and the Northern Territory.

It is also recommended that adolescents with certain medical risk conditions receive a meningococcal B vaccine. For adolescents with certain medical risk conditions, meningococcal vaccination depends on the individual’s age and the number and the type of meningococcal vaccines they have already received. 

The vaccine works by ‘training’ your adolescent’s immune system to recognise and get rid of the meningococcal bacteria. The vaccine contains antigens, which are tiny, harmless fragments of the meningococcal protein. When their immune system detects the antigens in the vaccine, it produces infection-fighting proteins called antibodies. These antibodies are like soldiers that recognise and remember the meningococcal protein. If your adolescent is ever exposed to the real meningococcal proteins, their immune system will recognise them quickly and fight them off using the antibodies it created after vaccination.³

The meningococcal vaccine does not contain any blood products and is not a ‘live’ vaccine. The antigens are made synthetically. They cannot reproduce themselves or cause disease.

Most children and adolescents (82–94%) who have their first dose of the meningococcal ACWY vaccine have developed enough infection-fighting cells (antibodies) to protect them against invasive meningococcal disease caused by these four types (strains).⁴

Research from South Australia shows that since the meningococcal B vaccines have been regularly offered to adolescents, the number of new cases of meningococcal disease caused by strain B has lowered by 78.5%.⁵

It is recommended that adolescents get a vaccine (MenACWY) that protects against meningococcal disease at 14–16 years of age (around year 10 or equivalent). 

This dose is usually given via free school-based immunisation programs. The age of vaccination varies by state and territory. Your adolescent can also receive this routine vaccine through a clinic visit with other immunisation providers for a fee.

The vaccine for meningococcal B is recommended for adolescents at 15–19 years (around year 10 or higher). In Queensland, South Australia and the Northern Territory, this vaccine is usually given via free school-based immunisation programs. In all other states and territories, your adolescent can receive this recommended vaccine through a clinic visit.

All adolescents with a new health or medical risk condition that puts them at risk for a serious meningococcal disease may be eligible to receive their meningococcal B vaccine doses free of charge. Talk to your preferred healthcare professional to find out what vaccination schedule may apply to your adolescent.

It is important that adolescents get all their vaccinations on time to ensure they have the best possible protection against infectious diseases. Even if your adolescent is mildly unwell on the day of their appointment (this means no fever and a temperature under 38.5°C), they can still receive the vaccine.

No, there is no risk that your adolescent will catch meningococcal disease, because the vaccine does not contain the live bacteria that cause the disease. 

• Up to 55% of adolescents who get a vaccine that protects against meningococcal strains A, C, W and Y experience mild discomfort or pain where the injection was given. This can last one or two days after receiving the vaccine.^6,7
• Between 28 and 37% of adolescents who get a vaccine that protects against meningococcal strains A, C, W and Y experience a headache.^3,4
• Between 1 and 8% of adolescents who get a vaccine that protects against meningococcal strains A, C, W and Y experience dizziness and fever.^6,7
• Up to 86% of adolescents who receive a vaccine that protects against meningococcal strain B experience mild discomfort or pain where the injection was given. This can last one or two days after receiving the vaccine.^8,9
• Up to 51% of adolescents who get a vaccine that protects against meningococcal strain B feel tired or lacking in energy (malaise), and up to 42% experience a headache.^8,9 These symptoms get better within a few days of vaccination.

About 0.0001% (1 out of every 1,000,000) of people have an allergic reaction following vaccination that affects their whole body, called anaphylaxis. This reaction usually happens within 15 minutes of receiving a vaccine and can be treated with an injection of adrenaline. People who have this reaction usually recover quickly and don’t experience any long-term effects.¹⁰

The introduction of the meningococcal C vaccine in 2003 significantly reduced rates of meningococcal C disease in Australia.

In 2017, three additional meningococcal strains (A, W and Y) were included in the vaccine. Since then, the meningococcal ACWY vaccine has greatly reduced meningococcal W and Y disease.^11,12,13

Sources: (i) Chiu C, Dey A, Wang H et al. Vaccine preventable diseases in Australia, 2005 to 2007. Communicable Diseases Intelligence 2010;34; supplement December: S1-167; (ii) Australia’s Notifiable Disease Status, 2010: Annual Report of the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System. Communicable Diseases Intelligence 2012; 36:1-69; (iii) Lahra MM, George CR, Shoushtari M et al. Australian Meningococcal Surveillance Programme Annual Report, 2020. Communicable Diseases Intelligence 2021;45

You can read some answers to common questions here.

If you still have some questions about vaccinations for your adolescent, write them down and make an appointment with your nurse, your doctor or your health worker so you can ask them.